The 5 books that have impacted your life the most.
Immediately after making my list of five most influential books, I looked back on my declared must-read list of last year. I am not surprised to see so many of the same books. Really, I think if I were asked to make this "Most Influential" list ten times, it would appear as ten different lists encompassing somewhere around ten books. What I list today are the first five books that came to mind this time around. They are not in any particular order although I stand by each of them as being extremely influential in my life.
1. Crazy Love. Truly understanding God's love for me and my love for God has always been rather difficult for me. I naturally operate by rules and obligation and, sadly, I have approached my relationship with God in the same way. I have wanted to make sure I was following all of the "rules" so that I could be the best Christian possible, so I was honoring God as well as I could, and so I wouldn't cause anyone to stumble. But this book of Francis Chan's brought me much liberation in my life and help me to understand what "freedom in Christ" really means. Furthermore, love is so much more than duty and good feelings. I value Francis Chan's teachings immensely and this book is no different.
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2. TKAM. If nothing else, I feel like I should have some credibility as an English teacher because To Kill a Mockingbird is genuinely one of my favorite books. I remember my mom handing me her copy when I was in 8th grade and telling me to get reading. I liked the book then but each time I reread it, I fall a little more in love with it (and Atticus, too, to be honest). I grew up in the small town setting, I know what it's like to have people all up in my business, and I remember being curious like Scout and misunderstanding so much when I was a child, even though I had the best of intentions. TKAM (my teacher abbreviation, BTW) is probably my favorite book to teach because it is such a beautifully crafted piece of literature as well as a genuine portrayal of the American way of life. Now I have my own copy and it is one of the few things I was very clear with my mom that she is not to give away in my absence. Much of my heart and soul are in that book and I was thrilled to be able to incorporate it into my thesis this last year.
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3. Just Do Something. For much of my life, God's will was this intimidating guessing game of what I was and was not supposed to do with my life and when I was supposed to get those things done. I figured if I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do, I just needed to pray harder and God would reveal Himself to me. I honestly don't remember if it was during my first or second summer at Bible camp that I read this book, but I was finally shown a practical, yet Biblically sound approach to discerning God's will. Upon finishing this book, I felt entirely liberated and able to live my life with much less worry and much more direction and purpose.
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4. A Thousand Splendid Suns. I read both this book and The Kite Runner at the recommendation of my college roommate at the time. I finished The Kite Runner quite quickly and enjoyed it immensely. I vividly remember going to the public library over Christmas break and checking out this book, only to stay up all night reading it and not stopping until I was finished. First and foremost, I was caught up in a beautifully written story. Secondly, I was captivated by the story of these two Afghan women. This book lit in me a desire for women and education. Likewise, I also now stalk teaching opportunities in Afghanistan and Pakistan. A girl can dream. Sigh. I was fortunate to teach this book for two years in the States and my students always fell in love with it as well and consistently listed it as a book they saw as influential. It has a little of everything for every one- love, war, funny, sad, etc. It's a beautiful tale on so many accounts.
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5. Don't Waste Your Life. In one summer, I read Crazy Love, Just Do Something, and Don't Waste Your Life and now consider them something of my own personal faith trifecta. In my second summer at camp, I taught a seminar on discerning God's will and used this text along with Chan's and De Young's (with a side of Katie Davis' Kisses from Katie). I believe preparing for the seminar may have been more rewarding than actually teaching it as I gained so much growth and understanding in my own walk with God. Without question, that summer was the single most formative in my walk with Christ, outside of being saved. I have always desired to be intentional in all things, even more so with this one life I have been given. I appreciate this text by John Piper because, like Kevin DeYoung's book, it liberated me from self-imposed constraints of my faith and has moved me in a more liberating, wholesome direction in my faith. It's not that John Piper really has anything earth shattering to share, but he writes in a way that allows me to examine the life that I have in the greater context of the world and, ultimately, eternity which helps make the daily grind that much easier to bear.
I have come to accept that I will never get everything read that I want to, but that doesn't mean I won't try!
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I am just over half done of my 100 books before 30 goal and I also have my book board on Pinterest.
I have come to accept that I will never get everything read that I want to, but that doesn't mean I won't try!
The 2015 Blog-Tember Challenge. Day 1. Day 2. Day 3. Day 4. Day 5. Day 6. Day 7. Day 8. Day 9. Day 10. Day 11. Day 12. Day 13. Day 14.
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